I feel incredibly privileged for my work as a midwife. I cannot think of any other vocation that would be as satisfying to my curiosity, as demanding of my creativity, and as fulfilling to my spirit. I feel lucky to support families through the journey of pregnancy and birth, whatever path they take.
I came to midwifery from a background working as a researcher and coordinator with a number of maternity-related organizations in BC. These experiences opened my eyes to the importance of pregnancy and birth as a transformative time for families and to midwifery as a caring model to support this transition. I am also deeply influenced by my mother, who attended births as a family doctor in Vancouver for almost thirty years and who was a strong supporter of midwifery.
I enrolled in the UBC Midwifery Program in 2006. In the course of my training, I attended over one hundred births and was mentored by a number of gifted and experienced midwives, nurses, and physicians in Vancouver, Richmond, and Delta. My first clinical placement was at Pomegranate, and I found here a community of midwives whose dedication and passion for normal birth was inspiring. I was thrilled to return to Pomegranate as a registered midwife in 2011.
As part of my training, I also had the good fortune to spend time working alongside midwives at a hospital in Uganda and at a clinic in Thailand serving Burmese refugees. These experiences reinforced the impression I already had that mothers are made for giving birth, and babies are made to be born; for the vast majority of births, the only equipment needed by the midwife is her caring hands. At the same time, working in these settings made me so grateful that in Canada, we have access to resources and technology when we do need them. I hope to incorporate international work into my practice as a midwife in the long term.